They Say Eyes Are
by Chillhopsenpai
Summary: Asuna lives in a luxury high rise apartment and Kirito is a window washer. A chance meeting and a communication barrier makes for some good old fashioned fluff.
1. Chapter 1

Kazuto winced as the headset he was wearing barked static into his ear as his boss shouted at him.

"Kirigaya! Progress on 44!" The grizzled voice came through the tinny speaker with an impressive amount of authority despite sounding like the person asking the questions was about twelve years old.

Kazuto rolled his eyes as he clipped his spray bottle to his utility belt and used his hand to hit the talk button on his headset.

"Just finished up the 44th floor, boss. I was just getting ready to call you and let you know before you about made me drop my squeegee," he said, unable to keep a shade of irritation from coloring the end of sentence.

"Did I just hear some more lip come out of you, Kirigaya?" the voice in his ear shouted again.

"Who, me? Never, sir," Kazuto replied as he adjusted his position in his harness. He made sure to keep his voice as flat as possible. While he didn't necessarily respect his boss, he didn't feel like washing the windows of another eleven floors as punishment just because he felt mouthy today.

"Well, just to make sure it wasn't, you get to finish the rest of Kishimura's section today, and you're not coming out of that harness until the job is done!"

"But Kishimura works all the way up from eighty to one hundred!" Kazuto protested, stomping his foot where it was braced along a concrete support. The resulting dull _thump!_ caused the cat that was sleeping in the windowsill of the apartment he was currently washing to wake with a start and shoot him the stinkeye. Kazuto stuck his tongue out at it.

"Maybe you'll think about that before you start popping off again, slacker."

"Never missed a day of work since I started this stupid job, but whatever," Kazuto mumbled as he switched off his headset and activated his rope winch to begin the walk up the side of the building.

The Cardinal Luxury Tower was one of the more upper-scale apartment complexes in downtown Tokyo; a slender but solid affair that stood one hundred stories high and was built with a design scheme aimed towards the future.

Unfortunately for Kazuto, that meant lots and lots of glass windows that needed washing. The company that he worked for, Lucky Shine Glass, had all but fallen over themselves to get a contract with the owners of the building, gladly overselling the amount of laborers they had in order to secure a fat and consistent paycheck. This meant Kazuto and his few coworkers each had large swaths of building to clean and were usually hassled by the overbearing crew foreman to get their lazy butts into gear, despite the fact that the weather usually did not work in their favor or that they were hundreds of feet in the air suspended by a simple harness and rope system that Kazuto heavily suspected of not being up to safety regulations.

As far as Kazuto was concerned, it wasn't the worst job. He didn't really have to interact with too many people because the tenants were all out of the house at their jobs or running errands and he was essentially left to his own devices as far as cleaning went because wiping a window down wasn't rocket science. He enjoyed the solitude and the sound of the wind rushing past his hair, and the money the company offered for such a dangerous job was good enough to make him ignore the faults, for the most part. But, on days like today, where his boss handed him extra work, he did sometimes wish he could've found a nice desk job with normal hours.

The sun was beginning to set, turning the nearby ocean into a sheet of hammered bronze that reflected up onto the building, making the structure seem like it was wavering side to side. Kazuto snorted in irritation as he finally reached the eightieth floor and braced himself up to start his rhythmic washing routine when his attention grabbed by the apartment he was currently situated outside of.

On the lower floors, windows typically served as a singular panel of a wall or a smaller feature, but this apartment's entire exterior wall was made up of several floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the apartment with the light provided from the setting sun. The apartment was done in an open-style fashion, with no walls that broke up the central living space. An ebony door stood on the far right wall. To the right of the door stood an umbrella stand and shoe rack where it looked like a few different pairs of women's shoes rested neatly in pairs. To the immediate left of the door was an impressive kitchen done in white tile that looked immaculately kept despite the wide variety of cooking implements that it contained. Next to the kitchen along the back wall of the apartment ran an elegant dining table that only had two seats placed on either end of it. The main feature of the apartment was the lavish living room done in white and beige with red accents that faced the right wall towards a monster sized television that had been mounted over an impressive looking fireplace. Lastly, to the left side of the apartment sat a gorgeous white grand piano that glowed like a divine being in the light of the sunset. Next to it sat an equally majestic cello that showed signs of wear along the neck from hands that must have spent countless hours rehearsing and fingering the strings. Yet despite the fact the instrument had been well-loved in the past, Kazuto could see a thick veneer of dust laying upon it.

"Damn," Kazuto muttered to himself. "Nice place. Wonder who lives here?"

As if on cue, the front door swung in and a young woman stepped inside, taking care to lock the door behind her after she closed it. She was of a slender build, but tall and seemed to possess more strength than she let show, evidenced by the abundance of groceries she hefted in one arm with apparent ease. Her hair, done into a neat braid and ponytail, was the color of the sunset coming off the water and Kazuto could see she had the eyes to match as she turned her head slightly when she went to put her shoes inside the organizer by the door. Her eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as she spotted something out of order with her footwear and knelt to adjust it, causing the knee length red skirt she wore to slide up her shapely legs, making Kazuto blush and avert his gaze momentarily. Apparently pleased that everything was back in its proper place, she stood and hung her white blazer on a hook just over the shoe rack, giving Kazuto a glimpse of an emblem on the lapel that seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place. The woman, seeming to be more comfortable now that she was rid of her outerwear, turned her back to Kazuto and sauntered into the kitchen with her hips swaying to some tune that he could not hear and set the voluminous bag of groceries on the counter and began pulling out various items that he could only assume to be used in tonight's meal. Without turning around, the woman grabbed a pot off of the hanging rack suspended over the kitchen's center island and placed it on the cooktop, flicking one of the dials halfway up and grabbing a tomato from the grocery bag and a knife from a nearby drawer as she moved over to a cutting board.

Kazuto watched her with a quiet fascination, totally enraptured by her gentle but deliberate movements that showed a sort of solid grace that only served to enhance her beauty.

The woman made quick work of dicing the tomato and tossed it into the pot which were followed by a thick looking red sauce and several herbs and spices that Kazuto couldn't quite make out. Soon enough the pot was simmering and had tendrils of steam rising from it. Kazuto was sure that it had to smell amazing. While the pot had been simmering, the woman had kept herself busy by preparing a small side dish the looked to be some kind of noodles.

Reminding himself he had his own busy work to do, Kazuto began wiping down and washing the windows, keeping an eye on the woman inside the whole time. His stomach growled as she dumped the noodles into the pot of sauce, making him wish he had eaten a more substantial lunch while he had been on break earlier in the day.

Suddenly, as the woman was stirring the pot, a large bubble came up and burst, covering her, her white blouse, and kitchen in lumpy red sauce. Kazuto gave a small snort of laughter as the woman froze in surprise and slowly wiped sauce off of her face with a fist placed on her hip. She proceeded to take a damp dishtowel and wipe down the sections of kitchen that had been contaminated by her cooking mishap while shaking her head seeming to mumble to herself. Once the area was once again sparkling clean, she set the dishtowel off to one side and began to undo her shirt, presumably to throw into the wash.

Kazuto suddenly had a realization that the laundry area was nowhere in the main space and had to be further inside the apartment. Panicking as the woman began to lift her shirt over her head and expose her stomach, Kazuto quickly rapped hard on the glass of the windows.

The woman froze stock still, slowly turning her head to the windows and seeing Kazuto there for the first time. Copper eyes locked with his and Kazuto quickly felt his face blush red as he quickly wiped down the smudge his knuckles had made on the window. Not waiting for a response, he quickly made an apologetic gesture to the woman and scrambled up the building as fast as his legs would carry him.

He spent the rest of his shift washing the remaining windows in a flushed fervor, unable to shake those bright copper eyes from his mind. By the time he had reached the roof and removed his harness and was headed down the service elevator, the sun had set and the temperature had dropped, but he still felt feverish as he hopped onto his motorcycle and drove home. He tried to lay on the couch and watch TV, but he tossed and turned restlessly, replaying his embarrassing episode in his head again and again, unable to shake the woman's face from his mind. Reaching a decision, grabbed his phone off of the coffee table in front of him and dialed a number.

A sleepy voice answered the phone. "Hey, Kishimura here."

"Kishimura, it's Kirigaya."

"Kirgiaya? Do you know what time it is? We have work tomorrow, man. You should be asleep."

" _I_ should be asleep. You work the afternoon shift, lazy bum."

"I am what I am. What do you want anyway?"

"Trade shifts with me." Kishimura's voice lost some of it's sleepiness.

"Woah, trade shifts? Why the hell would I do that? I get to sleep in on the shift I'm on right now!"

"Come on man, please? I'd owe you a huge favor."

The line was silent for several moments as Kishimura mulled the idea over. "You are a pretty resourceful guy, I'll give you that….a big favor from you could come in handy…. I don't know man. Mid-morning shift has to get up so early!" Kazuto rolled his eyes.

"Nine o clock is hardly early, dude."

"Wait a minute, this wouldn't have to do with the new tenant on eighty, would it?" Kazuto grimaced.

"No."

"It totally does! Ohhh ho ho Cold Man Kirigaya has got the hots for a lady! Just wait 'til I tell Retsuko, he'll wet his pants laughing." Kazuto tapped his foot impatiently.

"Yeah, ha ha man, real funny stuff. Now do we have a deal or not?" He could almost hear Kishimura's smirk through the phone.

"This should at the very least be entertaining for me and the rest of the boys, and with the cherry on top of you owing me, how could I refuse? We got a deal." Kazuto let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks man." Kishimura's voice grew drowsy again.

"Yeah yeah, lover boy. Now stop calling me. I got an early day tomorrow."

Kazuto hung up his phone and lay back down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Kazuto woke up the following day a little before noon, relishing in the opportunity to sleep in. He climbed out of bed, showered, and got dressed in his company coveralls before going around the house to straighten up and finish some chores he'd left incomplete in the middle of last night's frustrations. When he had finished all the busy work to be done in the house, he still found himself standing around at noon with two hours until his shift which he spent rehearsing what he was going to say until it was time to leave.

After a brisk ride and a trip up the service elevator that seemed to last an eternity, Kazuto stood on top of the building looking over the edge. The tower trailed away beneath his feet, almost appearing to dwindle away to nothing. People were multi colored specks that drifted along invisible tracks that carried them along the sidewalks. Yet despite the height, Kazuto's stomach was roiling with anxiety for a completely different reason. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, steeling his nerves.

"Okay," he whispered to himself. "Let's go." He stepped off the edge and let his body fall through the empty space while the harness took up the slack. He spun around to face the building, planting his boots hard on the surface of the concrete support as he rappelled his way to the hundredth floor. Taking his utensils in hand, he made quick work of the windows that made up the top nineteen floors. After finishing the eighty-first floor, he slowly made his way down and peeked from the top of one of the windows into the woman's apartment to find the space empty once again. Kazuto swallowed hard and lowered himself until he was fully in view from the interior of the apartment and slowly began cleaning the glass, eyes constantly flickering over to the door to see if it would open.

Behind him, the sun lazily made its way back to the horizon, painting everything the same ruddy orange as the day before, making it seem as if the world was but a dream dipped in bronze.

Kazuto's heart jumped into his throat as he saw the door swing open and the woman entered again. She repeated her usual ritual of hanging her blazer with the familiar symbol on the hook and her shoes in the organizer just as she had yesterday, however, instead of carrying on with whatever she needed to do now that she was home, she turned on her heel and immediately scanned the apartment and the windows, where she found Kazuto hanging from his harness like a giant dumbstruck spider. She fixed him with an icy stare and began slowly stalking closer and closer to the windows.

"H-hey miss!" Kazuto stammered, waving feebly. "So sorry about yesterday, I didn't mean to be staring like that, I was just here cleaning the windows, because, y'know, I'm a window cleaner and it is my job after all, and I uh.." his voice trailed off as the woman stood directly in front of him on the other side of the glass with her hands on her hips, the same frosty look on his face that made him feel like he was about to be reprimanded for speaking out of turn in class. "S-sorry again.." he managed to mutter as his face flushed red.

The woman's expression seemed to soften by a fraction when she saw his face, but still looked as welcoming as a doormat made of barbed wire. She slowly raised one hand and pointed to her ear, slowly shaking her head.

"Oh, can you not hear me?" Kazuto asked.

The woman raised an eyebrow at him.

"Right, right. Duh." Kazuto put his utensils in his belt and crossed his arms over his chest, thinking as the woman continued to regard him coldly. "Hmmmm," he thought scratching his chin. An idea popped into his head, memories from a class he had thought at the time was a complete waste. Kazuto looked back at the woman on the other side of the glass and pointed at her, causing her to raise her eyebrows slightly. He then slowly gestured towards his forehead, followed by a somewhat complicated hand movement. _Do you know sign language?_

The woman blinked in surprise and her hands twitched by her sides before she responded. _Yes, actually. I know sign language._ Kazuto smiled at her.

 _That's a relief!_ He signed back. The woman, now over her momentary lapse in her guard, resumed looking at Kazuto haughtily.

 _Why were you cleaning my windows so late yesterday? You guys are usually done my floor by the time I get home._ Kazuto sheepishly scratched at the back of his head and made an apologetic gesture.

 _I am really sorry about that. I had to cover a coworker's section because he wasn't here yesterday and I was cleaning when you came in._

The woman squinted at him, apparently still not mollified. _Then why are you still cleaning this section of the building today? Did your coworker not come back?_ Kazuto froze. He hadn't expected her to be quite so quick on the uptake.

 _Well, you see,_ he said _After yesterday's...incident, I didn't feel right just running off and not making things right again, so my coworker and I switched sections so I could apologize._

The woman uncrossed her arms and finally seemed to relax a bit. _Well, that's pretty decent of you, actually. Plus, you did let me know you were there. It would be a different situation entirely if you had said nothing while I was…_ The woman paused and twiddled her fingers while trying to think right of the right word; a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

 _Indisposed?_ Kazuto suggested. The woman favored him by turning one corner of her mouth upwards that optimists might have called a smile and inclined her head.

 _Yeah, indisposed_. The woman shifted her weight to one leg and stuck her hip out in a relaxed, casual manner that was a complete 180 from her recent behavior. _So, what is your name?_ she asked. _You moved shifts, right? If I'm going to be seeing you around a lot I might as well know your name._ Kazuto was so stunned by the quick turn in her demeanor his fingers fumbled over spelling out his own name.

 _Oh yeah, uh, I'm Kazuto Kirigaya._ The woman shot him a coy grin.

 _That's quite a handful,_ she told him. _Do you have a nickname or something?_

Kazuto grimaced. He didn't have a lot of friends, so there wasn't anybody to really give him a nickname. After a moment of silent self debate, he decided to use an amalgamation of his name he went by online.

 _Yeah, some of my friends call me "Kirito"._ The woman tilted her head and an expression of thoughtfulness came over her face.

 _Ki-ri-to,_ she signed slowly. Kazuto saw her lips move as she pronounced his name while she practiced the signing.

He offhandedly wondered how her voice sounded. He thought it might sound musical, like a flute crooning a lullaby. Maybe it was quiet, like a summer breeze whispering through the trees on a lazy afternoon. Or maybe, he thought as his cheeks flushed red, her voice was low and sultry smooth, the embodiment of hot flashes and spine tingling chills. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts as the woman's attention refocused on him.

 _I like it,_ she told him. _It sounds…..noble_. Kazuto snorted and fiddled with his utility belt.

 _Yeah, Kirito, the noble window washer. Sounds about right._

 _There's nothing wrong with washing windows, you know. Without you, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the view!_ Kazuto smiled ruefully at the woman.

 _You're too nice. Most women wouldn't be so kind to the guy that they caught peeping into their apartment while they were about to undress._

The woman raised her eyebrows and stared back at him evenly. _Most guys wouldn't come back to apologize, much less go through the trouble of trading shifts and climb eighty floors to do it._

 _Actually, I take the service elevator to the top and drop down, so it's only twenty floors._

 _The point still stands,_ the woman maintained. _My name is Asuna Yuuki._ Kazuto inclined his head.

 _A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Yuuki-_

 _Asuna,_ the woman cut him off. _My friends call me Asuna._ Kazuto grinned.

 _So we are friends now?_

 _Well, you've already seen my house._

 _It is a nice place you got here,_ Kazuto told her, eyes looking past her and scanning the apartment again. _What is it you do for a living, Asuna?_

 _I'm a music teacher at the Sacred Oath Academy,_ Asuna told him as she walked across her apartment and settled down onto a couch in the living room. Kazuto snapped his fingers as he followed her along the outside of the building.

 _That's why your jacket looked familiar! I pass that place on my way here every day. It looks very prestigious._ Asuna gave him a knowing smile as she took a brush off the coffee table and started working knots out of her hair.

 _Everyone's favorite synonym for expensive._

Kazuto grinned back at her. _Your words, not mine, Ms. Music Teacher, but it looks like they serve you well enough._

Asuna smiled sadly at the ground as she paused her brushing to reply. _They pay me well certainly, but I am not really in it for the money. My father pays for most of my bills, because I come from a wealthy family, but I could be just as happy somewhere teaching in places where children might not the opportunity to get the kind of education that Sacred Oath provides, but my parents would never approve for fear of losing face among their peers._

 _Sounds like I'm not the only noble person here,_ Kazuto said, smiling gently. Asuna snorted and shook her head.

 _The road to hell is paved with good intentions,_ she signed, hand movements becoming slightly harsh with emotion. She caught herself and took a breath, closing her eyes as she relaxed. Once she had seemed to settled down, she looked back up at Kazuto. _So do you have anything else you do besides washing windows?_ Kazuto let himself dangle from his harness as he kicked his feet in the air.

 _I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of robotics and technology corporations. I work with that kind of stuff, or at least would like to, I did get a degree for it after all, but it's complicated because I want to work in a lot of complicated fields that aren't really being explored in many places yet. This job is just an in-between, really, although it isn't the worst-_ Kazuto froze as he realized Asuna was looking at him with an amused smile. _Ah, sorry I was rambling._

 _Don't be,_ Asuna reassured him. _It's refreshing to meet someone who is passionate about what they want to do._

Kazuto's headset blasted in his ear as his boss roared at him.

"Kirigaya! What's this I hear about you trading shifts with Kishimura? Did you want to slack off more by sleeping in later? I won't have it!"

 _Kirito, are you ok?_ Asuna asked, brow furrowing in concern when she saw Kazuto jump. He waved her off dismissively and pointed at his headset.

 _Yeah it's just my boss._

 _Oh no, I hope I haven't gotten you into trouble of any kind by keeping you!_

 _Not at all,_ Kazuto said _I made sure to get all my other floors done before I came down here._ He pushed the talk button.

"Yeah boss, some things came up in our schedules and it worked out better for both us if we traded, so that's what we did." Kazuto looked back up at Asuna and motioned toward his headset then spun his finger around his temple and stuck out his tongue. He was awarded a small giggle from Asuna that made him feel vertigo for the first time since starting washing windows. The way her nose wrinkled up was terribly adorable.

The voice in Kazuto's headset grumbled. "Well as much as I don't like it, if Kishimura agreed, then that's fine. What are you still doing on site then, Kirigaya?" Kazuto frowned.

"What do you mean, boss?"

"It's nearly seven o' clock. Evening shift starts in an hour."

"Shit!" Kazuto looked at his watch and confirmed it was indeed seven o' clock. The sky had grown dark and the automated lights of Cardinal Tower had already flickered to life, bathing the building in a golden light.

 _It seems like you need to go,_ Asuna commented as she rose from the couch. _I have assignments that need grading anyway, so perhaps we can say goodnight for now._ Kazuto grimaced, loathe to leave, but nodded.

 _I do have things to do tomorrow. Goodbye for now, Asuna._ Asuna put her arms above her head and stretched, easing some of the tiredness out of her cramped muscles.

 _Goodnight, Kirito. See you around._

And with that, Kazuto activated his winch, slowly ascending to the top of the building, feeling a lot better than he did on the way down.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Kazuto came to work and powered through his responsibilities and dropped down to Asuna's apartment to find her sitting on her couch surrounded by a nest of various colored papers.

She had already changed into loungewear. Some soft, form-fitting sweatpants and a tank top gave Kazuto more than enough reason to be glad he changed shifts, but the slender pair of reading glasses that perched upon her face reaffirmed his faith that life was worth living. Her nose was scrunched up in concentration as she pored over papers, making marks and notes in a red pen occasionally before placing them into the appropriate stack. She sighed after finishing one paper and pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes as she massaged away a headache. Kazuto tapped on the glass gently, making Asuna give a small start in surprise.

 _Surprised you're already hard at work. You usually get here the same time I do._

 _That's only because I've had to go to faculty meetings the past few days. With the semester coming to a close in the next couple of weeks before summer break, we've been swamped._

 _Haha, I can remember the stress in college over finals. I don't miss it._ Asuna regarded him with a dour grin as she set her glasses aside

 _Yeah, now imagine that, but instead of being responsible for just your work, it's everyone's, and on top of that, you get calls from upset parents because their darling little child isn't scoring as high as they want them to._ Kazuto shook his head.

 _I can't stand most people, so I just couldn't even begin to handle something like that._ Asuna put her pen down and cocked her head at him curiously.

 _Really? But you seem so comfortable talking to me! I would have guessed you would be the kind of guy to hit the clubs after work._ Kazuto scoffed and scratched at the back of his head, averting her eyes. He couldn't quite tell her that he was only talkative towards her because he was attracted towards her. He twiddled his fingers nervously.

 _Yeah, no. Not a big socialite._ _I do stop for a drink at this little place my friend runs every now and then though. Decent guy, though he's about as tight-fisted as they come when it comes to money. A real merchant, through and through._ Asuna favored him with a warm smile.

 _I'm sure it's a great place. I'd love to go and see it one day._ Kazuto could feel the heat rising to his face, and made himself busy by fiddling with the straps on his harness.

 _That's if you can ever dig yourself out from under that mountain of paperwork!_ He joked. Asuna sighed and slumped back on the couch in defeat.

 _I know! I hardly have time to do anything I really like anymore._ Kazuto's interest piqued.

 _Yeah? What do you like to do for fun?_ Asuna blinked at him, cleary caught off guard.

 _Geez, it's been so long since I've had any spare time...I mean, I love playing music, obviously, but I haven't been able to really memorize anything outside of what I need for work, and you do get a little tired of teaching the Chop Waltz on piano after the fifth or sixth class that day._

Kazuto chuckled as he pantomimed playing the song on a phantom keyboard in front of him. Asuna blanched and waved her hands at him.

 _Ugh, stop, please! I already hear it in my dreams enough as it is. Plus, your finger placement is off, so you're off key._ Kazuto froze his hands and cocked an eyebrow at her, an amused smile lifting his lips.

 _Well, how should I place my fingers, then?_ She rolled her eyes and detangled herself from her nest of papers and padded over to the window.

 _Here, if you are sitting at the center of the piano, your hand should be about two inches further down the keyboard from where it is now to start._ Kazuto shifted his hand.

 _Like this?_ Asuna stepped close to the glass, inspecting his hands.

 _Close, but your individual fingers are in the wrong spots. Your ring finger needs to go a bit to the left. No, my left, not your left. Now your pinky is too far away. You know what, just hold up your hand and then mirror what I do._ She held her hand palm up to the glass.

Kazuto did as he was instructed, carefully lining up his fingers to match the placement of Asuna's. When she didn't move her hand, he glanced up at her and his breath caught in his throat.

The evening light illuminated her, making her glow as though she were made of divine light. Her eyes were transfixed on their hands, palm to palm, separated only by a few inches of glass. Her gaze slowly shifted from their hands and traveled up to his eyes to regard him. The wind ruffled his hair, carrying the smell of the salty sea on the breeze. It might have just been his imagination, but he could have sworn he heard a tune in the air rushing by him, but then it was gone as soon as it had been there, and the moment passed.

Kazuto's watch beeped, making him jump, which also startled Asuna. They exchanged sheepish grins and laughed.

 _It's time for me to go, unfortunately._ Asuna nodded and stepped back from the glass.

 _Of course. Drive safe on your way home, okay?_ He gave her a lopsided smile.

 _I'll be sure to. I'd hate to leave you in the lurch with some dirty windows, after all._ With that, he hit the button on his winch and ascended up the side of the building, his last view of Asuna being her glancing out over the city, then staring contemplatively at her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Kazuto nearly fumbled the thermos as he went to unscrew the cap, sucking air in through his teeth as the hot soup spilled out onto his hand.

 _Hey, be careful out there! I doubt someone would enjoy that soup of yours when it's falling at a hundred miles an hour,_ Asuna admonished him from her couch, somehow skillfully signing with a pair of chopsticks in one hand. Kazuto rolled his eyes as he blew the steam away from the mouth of the container. He gripped the metal cylinder with his teeth to free up his hands.

 _I don't know, my beef noodle soup is pretty world-renowned for being delicious at any speed._ Asuna quirked an eyebrow as she shoveled ramen into her mouth.

 _Is that a fact?_ She asked him once she began chewing. _You know, I have a hard time believing you. If it's that good, surely you'd be a world famous chef by now, and not the window washer to a frustrated teacher._ Kazuto shrugged as he slurped noisily from his thermos, letting the hot broth warm his body as the cool evening winds picked up around him.

 _Surely you as a student of the arts would know something about unrecognized talent._

 _Unrecognized is a far cry from non-existent._ Kazuto shot her a scandalized look and a pout.

 _At least I know what temperature to heat my sauce at so it doesn't explode all over the kitchen!_ Asuna gave him a begrudging grin.

 _Touché._ Her face became thoughtful as she set her bowl and chopsticks aside. _If you are such a maestro in the kitchen, perhaps you could help me out with a dilemma I'm having._ Kazuto screwed his thermos shut and placed in back in his bag, his curiosity piqued.

 _Sure, what's up?_ Asuna fidgeted on the couch for a moment before standing up and pacing in front of the windows.

 _You see, I have this coworker. She's the woodshop teacher, so she's pretty great at making things, but when it comes to making things in the kitchen, she's a hot mess. I mean, a real hopeless disaster. The problem is, there's this guy she likes and she wants to make him a lunch because he's always working so much he sometimes forgets to eat, so she asked me if there might be any foolproof recipes she could make that he might like._ Asuna paused her pacing and looked at Kazuto. _I'm a good hand in the kitchen when it comes to cooking for myself because I know what I like, but when it comes to cooking for other people, I'm a little inexperienced. What would you suggest?_ Kazuto folded his arms and twirled around in his harness.

 _A good question, for sure._ He rested his chin in the palm of his hand as he stared off into space thinking of the best answer he could give her. _If he works so hard that he forgets to eat, he would probably appreciate something nice and hearty to keep him going. The real problem is if she's such a disaster, making something like that could be complicated, so what's something that's easy yet filling?_ He snapped his fingers as an idea popped into his mind. _Stew!_ Asuna chewed her bottom lip as she thought it over.

 _Yeah, I can see your logic there. Easy prep, one pot. All you'd have to do is watch it to make sure it doesn't burn. The thing is, she wants to really impress this guy, so she won't spring for just making a boring old stew._

 _Put a spin on it,_ Kazuto suggested. _There's plenty of stews out there with fancy names and ingredients, right?_ Asuna began to nod slowly.

 _Yeah, you're right about that._ A smile flashed across her face as a triumphant light entered her eyes. _A ragout! It's perfect! Fancy name, with a bunch of ingredients that'll be a cinch to prep for her so she can't mess it up._ Kazuto's watch beeped and he began to wrap up his utensils as he gave Asuna a sardonic grin.

 _Best of luck with that. I'll be sure to drop my consultation fee invoice in your mailbox on the way out._ Asuna rolled her eyes and smiled back as she went to pick up her dishes.

 _Typical. You'll get a fee out of me when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands you parasite._

However, when Kazuto showed up to work for his shift the next day, he found a small plastic container sitting outside the service elevator waiting for him with a card written in an elegant script on top:

" _For the world's best window washer/ cuisine consultant. Here's your payment. ~A."_


	4. Chapter 4

Kazuto shivered in the stiff winter wind, teeth chattering as he walked his way down the building. He fumbled with his spray bottle, nearly dropping it as he tried to fiddle with the nozzle with his thick fingered gloves. He managed to spritz the window with the cleaning fluid and scrubbed at the build up of frozen-on sea spray on the glass.

 _Of all the rotten luck,_ he thought to himself miserably. _I get assigned the Christmas Eve shift._ He glumly thought of everywhere else he would rather be as another draft of icy wind cut through his coat.

His cousin's house, undoubtedly warm and full of delicious food his aunt had made. He could picture the table now, complete with a roast turkey fixed with all of the trimmings. Suguha would be putting on her holiday Christmas CD right about now, laughing as she stuck a pair of antlers on his head while he grimaced and pretended not to enjoy himself. Then they'd eat themselves sick on chocolates while playing board games.

He thought about Agil and Klein, down at the bar, throwing their Christmas party. Agil would be making his famous eggnog that kept the crowds flowing in through the door from the dark streets. Klein would have too much and would have been tugging him off of his barstool, begging him to be his wingman. He'd swear all he had to do was stand there and smile while he tried, unsuccessfully, to pick up girls.

That made him think of Asuna. Despite the chill, he felt warmth rush through his body. Out of everything, he wished he could experience all of it right next to her. He blushed at that thought.

They certainly had an unusual relationship, at least, he thought of it as a relationship. They'd see each other on a near daily basis, always making jokes and talking about their day. He'd tell her about the latest technology breakthroughs he'd read about while she watched his hands intently, interrupting to ask him to spell out certain gestures she was unfamiliar with. He'd help her critique her students' papers when she was backed up in paperwork. He smiled at the thought of himself glancing at the papers she'd laid out for him to read over at the edge of the windows, only to end up distracted by how the light was reflected in the lenses of her reading glasses, or how her long hair draped down the curve of her neck. He'd always be snapped out of his reverie by a pencil smacking into the glass and Asuna looking at him with a humorously exasperated expression, telling him to stop spacing out. The yearning in his chest pulled him downwards as he hurried through the floors, eager to see if she was home.

He reached the eightieth floor in a flash of squeaking glass and cleaning solution. However, when he made it there, he was crestfallen to find the apartment dark. He huffed out a sigh, his breath coming out in a voluminous white plume and began wiping down the windows. He slogged through the movements, dejectedly humming the tune to " _Blue Christmas"_ slightly off-key to himself. He finished the last window and looked up into the cold night sky. The light of the city hung thick in the air, choking out most of the visible stars, but to the north, one still managed to twinkle just bright enough for him to see it.

"Ah well," he sighed."Can't have it all." He went to thumb the winch up to begin the slow climb to the roof. Suddenly, the lights in the apartment came up, making him wince.

The door swung open, admitting Asuna in a long coat and Santa hat. Kazuto's face lit up and he grinned, waiting for her to turn around and see him. She shivered, making the pom-pom on her Santa hat swing back and forth. She then undid the buttons on her coat and quickly shucked out of the garment. Kazuto's jaw dropped. Under the coat, she was clad in what he could only describe as a festive cocktail dress. Red fabric trimmed in white fur left her shoulders bare and only came down to the middle of her thighs. A trendy black belt hung jauntily on her hips, just above the short miniskirt of her dress. Dark leather boots clad her legs all the way up to just above her knees, the heels giving her an extra few inches. Matching gloves ran up to her elbows. Kazuto soaked it all in, his eyes wide.

Asuna heaved a little sigh of relief and turned to go sit on the couch. She glanced out the windows and froze as still as a statue when she saw Kazuto hanging in his harness. They regarded each other for a long, long moment. Kazuto saw her mutter something under her breath before crossing her arms over herself, trying to preserve some modesty.

 _Kirito! What are you doing here? It's Christmas Eve!_ She signed, her hands trembling slightly. He stared, then shook his head, heat rising to his face.

 _I got called in for the late shift,_ he explained. _Uh, what are you wearing?_ Asuna blushed as red as her dress.

 _My friend Lizbeth was throwing a Christmas costume party. This is what she got for me to wear. It's terrible, really, let me go change-_ She went to make towards the hall.

 _No!_ He waved frantically. Asuna looked back at him, wide-eyed. _I mean- you don't have to. I...like it._

 _You do?_

 _Yeah, I think it suits you. Plus, I was really hoping I'd see you tonight._ Asuna scoffed.

 _You'd want to see me instead of being with your family or friends on Christmas Eve? That's-_ she paused, lowering her hands for a moment as she looked at him with very intent eyes. _That's…...very sweet of you._ It was Kazuto's turn to blush as there was another pause.

 _You can, uh, change if you still want to. I'll just go. I'm sure you don't want me looking at you when you're obviously uncomfortable. Sorry._ He went to hit the winch again, but stopped when Asuna took a step towards the windows. She took another step. Then another. He began to panic. _I know, I wasn't supposed to be here for the second time and caught you in another bad spot again. I'm sorry-_ Asuna rapped hard on the glass in front of his face, making him stop. She was standing directly in front of him on the other side.

 _Hey,_ she told him. _Read my lips._ He looked up at her face. Their eyes locked and they held each other's gaze for a very long moment. Then, Asuna bent her head down slightly and closer to the glass. Her delicate lips parted and she exhaled slowly, fogging up the glass between them. Kazuto blinked as her face disappeared. He saw her lift her hand up slowly and begin writing out numbers in the fog. A phone number, he realized a second later. _Her_ phone number. The mist slowly began to fade at the edges. He squawked and dug his hand into his jacket pocket, fumbling after his phone. He managed to get it out and opened his camera, snapping a picture of the number in the fogged up glass. Behind the mist, he saw the shadow of Asuna's head hesitate, then tilt forward towards. Her lips pressed against the glass and left a glossy pink mark that stayed behind even after her phone number had disappeared.

"Merry Christmas, Kirito," she mouthed. He sat there, suspended in the air, freezing his fingers off, his heart hammering in his chest, unable to do anything. Then he felt heat rush to his face as he grinned ear to ear.

"Merry Christmas, Asuna."


End file.
